Two residents of Dagestan accuse Russian Ministry of Finance of inaction

Two residents of the Gumbet District of Dagestan-victims of the nature calamity in 2006, have filed a lawsuit claiming illegal inaction of the Ministry of Finance, which has not yet decided on the issue to compensate their material losses.

The lawsuit runs that on May 19, 2006, the villages of Mekhelta, Kilyatli, Chirkata and Igali of the Gumbet District suffered from a natural hydrological phenomenon - strong showers with large hail with hailstones reaching diameter of 20-25 mm. As a result of torrential rains, landslides happened; in this context an emergency situation was announced.

On May 21, 2006, the emergency commission of the Gumbet district administration introduced the emergency situation in the villages of Mekhelta, Kilyatli and Ingishi, where dozens of housed were damaged. The officials drew up documents on damage estimates' however, as the claimant assert, "no other steps followed."

After a period of two years, when no one was interested in the situation with the victims of the disaster, in 2008, they turned to the Emergency Service of Dagestan on compensation for the losses, said Saigitag Shaikhmagomedov, one of the victims.

"On March 11, we received an answer from Sh. Khartyshev, Deputy Head of the Service, who reported that the materials on the damage had been sent to federal ministries for consideration and decision-making on allocation of federal budgetary funds for payment of compensations to the victims," he said.

The answer said that at that moment the federal ministries (Ministry for Emergencies (MfE), Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy) had not yet made the decision on allocation of federal budgetary money on compensation payments to the victims.

According to Mr Shaikhmagomedov, the federal ministries, referred to by the republic's ones, sent another official answer back on February 28, 2008, stating that federal money had been allocated back in 2006.

"The amount of compensation according to the lawsuit brought against the Ministry of Finance for Shaikhmagomed Shaikhmagomedov is claimed as 2,232,000 roubles, and for Saigitag Shaikhmagomedov - as 1,339,200 roubles," said Ms Magomedova, their advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the office of the Federal Court of the Soviet District of Makhachkala that the date of the session on the lawsuit has not yet been appointed.

The Ministry of Finance has refused to verbally comment on the situation, referring to the absence of the materials on the case.